PowerPoint
is used in many, many ways today! This quick project involved an
unusual (even for us) description – and proved to be a lot
of fun. This project could easily have been developed in Flash,
Director, or a linear-editing (video) application. But the meeting
had computer/PowerPoint output setup, no video playback (via DVD,
Beta or VHS) and the client needed to review and edit on laptop
while traveling - so PowerPoint was the easiest solution.
PROJECT:
Create an onscreen representation of the key attributes of the company
product to coordinate with a professional mime’s presentation
of each of these attributes.
PARAMETERS:
- PowerPoint 2003
- 12’x20’ rear projection screen
- Must use only black and white (to coordinate with traditional
“Mime” colors)
- Smooth transitions from one ‘topic’ to another
PRODUCTION:
- Our first step was to read the Mime’s “script”
and pull out the key attribute words
- Next we developed the series of words in PhotoShop®
to give them some interest and shadowing to keep the projected show
from looking to flat
- We also avoided any font issues by making the stylized words into
images
- We then recreated the company logo in white, and with enough resolution
to project full screen with no pixelization
- Final step was to animate the presentation
PRESENTATION:
- 5 slides
- 57 animations
- 9 custom graphics (all ,png images with transparency)
- Of note is the presentation uses no PowerPoint text or autoshapes
PLAYBACK:
- To assure smooth animation and slide transition playback it needs
to be played with the full PowerPoint application (not through the
Viewer application)
- Additionally Hardware Acceleration should be turned on (provided
the computer has a graphics cards with dedicated memory)
----- Hardware Acceleration is turned on by going to SLIDE SHOW
>> SET UP SHOW >> click the USE HARDWARE GRPAHICS ACCELERATION
button
- We designed with slide numbers and end-of-slide indicators in
the lower right corner. These were over projected, so they were
not visible to the audience, but gave the graphics operator knowledge
of when it was safe to advance to the next slide
-----W hen the thin vertical bar appears in the lower right corner,
the slide animation is complete and it is safe to advance to the
next slide when needed
-----This also was important as we did not know the exact timing
of the Mime's performance for each slide, so each slide had to be
manually advanced to coordinate with the live action
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